My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Once upon a time a little Indie film that wasn’t anticipated to
live up to its name did that and then some. Its preemptive arrival was of a
quiet sort only if you look inside, and you found a big and very
entertaining story about vibrant and fun characters. Fourteen years later,
everyone is remembering this 2002 film that told a story of family, food and
finding love.

Being 30 for Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) means to her father's old-fashioned thinking, she’s now
“old” and past a marriageable age. As a child in a large Greek family, Toula
endured her classmates thinking her strange without ever making any real
friends. As adults, her sister is now married with two children and is, by her
father’s standards, a success. Her brother, Nick (Louis Mandylor), is also
unmarried, looking from some leeway and approval from their father but without
the added pressure Toula bares. Instead, every day she engages in the same
routine living under her parent’s roof, and working in their family restaurant.
And then something changes.

Eventually Toula begins to enjoy a sense of freedom when she talks
her father into letting her take night classes at the local college. This then
leads to her being allowed to work at her aunt’s travel agency, and then
she meets Ian (John Corbett). A schoolteacher, Ian is funny, kind and
everything Toula could wish for. There’s only one (very big) flaw in her
otherwise perfect life: Ian is not Greek.

Who else remembers this quirky romantic-comedy? I missed
seeing this one when it was “cool” but then what else is new!? (She asks sarcastically.) It would be many years later
before I’d finally find a copy in one of those “bargain buy” displays and
would actually pick up a copy. Since that inaugural viewing, I do believe I’ve
only seen this once more when, a couple of weeks ago, my mother and I decided a re-watch was in order. That came about as a result of planning to go see its
sequel My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 in
theaters this past week.

As I said above, to this day, this is still one of the greatest
(romcom) box office and Indie hits of the modern era. It took a simple idea and, with the producing talents and help of Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, turned
it into something memorable, a staying power unusual to romantic-comedies that
has lasted these past fourteen years. The one bit of magic that My Big Fat Greek Wedding captures is the
sense of family the script expresses. There’s a relatable, charming value in
the story because it shows family in all of its messy and beautiful forms.

Likely another reason this has stood apart is the cast who,
while talented, aren’t the norm the ordinary romantic-comedy headlines. Nia
and John have a great chemistry as they take steps to deepen their courtship. The
supporting cast of characters too is memorable and fun to hang out with for 90-some
minutes as they busily and noisily butt into Toula’s life. Often their shenanigans are as humorous
as they are realistic in their depiction (albeit clearly exaggerated and silly
to keep within its bubble of romcom bliss).

If you’re a fan of lighthearted romances, and you’ve yet to
experience this one, My Big Fat Greek
Wedding is a must see.Between the
cute premise and genuine emotions the film impresses upon us, it's a classic despite the
dated and campy sense of humor. The familial relationships are great fun, and
of course then there's the swoon-y romance. That, for all of us romantics, will be enough said.

Content: There is some mild innuendoes about sex lives,
mainly coming from Toula’s aunt who attempts to give Toula advice on intimacy;
there’s one other scene that shows a couple in bed, sheets scattered about. The
film is rated PG.

This movie is a family classic! I can't remember when we first saw it (but it was pretty early on) or how many times we've seen it, and quotes from it are part of my fam's everyday vocab! It short I love this movie! I absolutely can't wait for the second one, we have a family outing planned to see it on Sunday!

Your family always looks like they're having a blast, Lydia. The pictures/tweets you share are always fun. That's part of the reason these movies are so well received (at least I think so), because, in varying forms, they're so easy to relate too. Yes, family can be overwhelming sometimes (even if the number isn't near what Toula's is ;D), but at the end of the day, they're family. And that's all that matters. Thanks for visiting, Lydia. You're always welcome. :)

I remember hearing all about the phenomenal response to this movie when it first came out. Wasn't it in theaters forEVER? And well deservedly so because it's "sups adorbs" as our favorite Lydia would say. :) I found a copy at a thrift store a few months ago, but haven't watched it again yet. Crazy, right? This review just makes me want to go home right now and watch it!

I'm not sure why this made it as big as it did (in comparison to some of its peers), but it IS "sups adorbs" (love Lydia!). For me, I think it's an easily relatable film because of its family shenanigans. As for you watching it, you picked a great time, girl. With the sequel, you can watch them back-to-back. :)

Have a thought? Don't be shy, go ahead and leave one... or two... or three! I reply to every comment. If you're new to the blog, please don't hesitate to introduce yourself and your blog - we love chatting around here!

Feedback and every comment is appreciated and read - I always leave a response; your opinions are respected and I ask that you show mine the same courtesy.

(If you post under “anonymous,” please leave a name. If you don't have a Google account, you can type your name into the Name/URL and if you have no site, just leave "URL" blank.)

If you are still reading my ramblings, thank you for following this little blog and for being one of its supporters. I’ve enjoyed getting to know each of you, friends!

Subscribe

Recent + Upcoming Reviews

Disclosures

Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I may receive compensation. This compensation comes at no additional cost to you.
Rissi JC (RissiWrites.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Disclosure of Material: RissiWrites.com is review site that frequently receives books from publishing houses, publicists or authors. I am not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed here are our own.I am not paid for any of the reviews I publish.

Finding Wonderland in your Inbox!

Subscribe! Have Finding Wonderland's new content sent to your inbox; sign up for our once (or twice) monthly round up of new content. If you'd like to have this newsletter sent to your inbox, you can enter your email address here.

Privacy

Finding Wonderland and RissiWrites.com (referred to herein as "we" or "our") does not sell or trade your (user, reader) information nor do we share information with other sources. The exception being in the case of a third party giveaway host.
Advertising companies (ads placed on RissiWrites.com) or Amazon Affiliates may collect some information when you visit our website, which we have no control over.
Further information may be collected when you visit RissiWrites.com. Information like IP addresses or location, third-parties such as ads placed on this site may also collect this data.
If you enter a giveaway here through Rafflecopter, the information the user is sharing will be used only to provide you with the user's giveaway prize; if the prize is an Amazon Kindle book, the email WILL be shared on Amazon. If you sign up for a newsletter here, the user's information will only be used to have Finding Wonderland's new posts sent to user's inbox.
This information was updated May 2018.